Zared wrote:On a higher note i had another go at 2003 Bada from Sunsing. This is probably the 5th time i've tried this and i still can't decide if i should save up for a tong or just buy a couple cakes.

What is your general impression of Sunsing? That cake is pretty pricey for what it is (I'm guessing it was cheaper when you bought it) and Sunsing has no description up. All their prices seem a bit crazy; for example, a jinxuan oolong at over $2/gram, how?

Prices are in HKD. That tea is only $20 or .26/g

So that Bada is only around $100. Thats not that much for something 10 years old. The one thing i hate about Sunsing is their lack of pictures or details about teas. I've tried a number of their 01-04 cakes and have to say many are a miss.

This morning I started my day off sampling the 04 Dayi cai (color) 7542 which I am pretty sure was a fake as it was a little sour . I would like to hear from anyone who has tried this cake. To wash the taste out of my mouth I brewed a 2000 Menghai Wild Arbor Big Green Tree. I used less leaf this time so the brew wasn't as impressive but it was still very pure. It is hard to find a fault with this tea. It very much seems like a younger version of the 70s Grand yellow label that I had recently.

Spent this wintery afternoon with the 1996 7532 from Sample Tea. Very tasty, and I was able to enjoy it even with the lingering bits of a sudden cold. It appears the price has nearly tripled since I purchased the sample back in January, alas.

Did a taste check on Changtai 2005 Menghai brick tea. I am not a big fan of Manghai tea, but this one was not too bad. Bought 50 pieces and stored them nicely and do taste check ( I do it on all my tea every 3 months) to understand their change.

So this one is mellowing down, with hint of sweetness, nice body and flavour. The taste is typical of Menghai but overall it is nice and passable.

Taste checking is slightly different than normal tea enjoyment. It is more like lab testing and brewing and anaylsing to try to undestand the tea change in character over time. But it is not that complicated, just brew them in Gaiwan and do evaluation on every brew and compare them to 3 months ago. Sometime I take note, and some times I just create a taste memory on it. The enjoyment criteria is still as important.

Had an enjoyable 2002 DXS brick wild spring tea, brewed over 3 hours last night until 130am.... actually I was distracted by Youtube . This is a super power packed tea that could hardly able to drink when young. After 10 years, it mellowed into incredibly thick, smooth and sweet tea. It last more than 15 good brews and can still go on.

Luckily those critics had no foresight when the tea was available in the past. Most people think I was crazy to buy these kind of tea but who has the last laugh The same piece is now selling at RMB5000 in China

That particular tea is from a more official place. The 2010 version is easily available for less than $15 absent fees, shipping, handling.

I liked this tea a lot, actually. Not tops, but of the sort of consistent good quality I can expect from Yibang Chamasi/Tai Lian. This is a gongting and first grade blend, rather similar to the Dayi Dragon Pole, but with leaves from apparently Jingmai and Mengku (my guess, since whatever is said is manifestly unreliable). First couple of brews have a strong fruit note, beef stock w/herbs and a little shu qualia dark taste of soil/wood. Then the fruit fades and the beef stock gets strong, and this tea tastes very savory. The beef stock taste subsides and a strong floral wood taste, much like the 2011 Jin Dayi, for example, starts to predominate. I had a few cups of this really nice wood taste that's much better than the usual mengku/jingmai tendency towards a bark taste. This wood taste had much more depth behind it, typical of Banna shu rather than northern leaf shu. There is little sweetness outside of the beginning, and as the tea tires, a hint of the classic bready/caramel shu sweetness after the swallow. It has decent thickness. There is energy and some feel to it, but probably no real notable qi. The aroma was ok. The durability was only ok. The change from brew to brew is rather big, and the character of the tea is rather in-your-face, and not something you drink in any mood.